BATIK AIR STARTS FLIGHTS TO KOTA KINABALU
Indonesian airline picks city as part of its global network expansion plan
INDONESIAN airline Batik Air has started twice-weekly direct flights to Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) from Jakarta SoekarnoHatta International Airport (SHIA), following its successful inaugural flight yesterday.
Kota Kinabalu was chosen as its new destination as part of the plan to expand its international network.
Early this month, Batik Air flew to two new Indonesian destinations, Silangit in North Sumatra and Labuan Bajo on the Island of Flores in East Tenggara.
Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd managing director Datuk Badlisham Ghazali said the new route would benefit both countries as well.
“We are happy to see yet another airline adding Kota Kinabalu as its destination after the consolidation of operations under one terminal back in 2015.
“Based on our records, KKIA’s total passenger traffic movements had experienced good growth of 7.3 million in the first 11 months, up 11.2 per cent over the same period last year.
“In fact, international passenger traffic movements have seen more robust growth,” he said in a statement yesterday.
During the same period, KKIA registered 2.3 million international passenger traffic movements, an increase of 22.1 per cent from last year.
“We are glad to see the growth, especially after our pledge in the last two years to further support the development of tourism in Sabah by intensifying efforts to promote the state as a destination.
“Tourism in Sabah is at its peak right now, with each town offering fabulous local activities, combining nature and culture.
“The new route introduced by Batik Air is timely for its passengers from Indonesia to enjoy Sabah at its best,” he said.
Batik Air president director Achmad Luthfie shared the same thoughts on the current high demand for tourism and business destinations, adding that the new route would contribute to the economic growth, especially for Indonesia.
He said based on the forecast of passenger load factor for the new SHIA-KKIA route, there was also a high possibility for the flight frequency to increase to seven times a week from twice a week.
“On top of that, Batik Air also plans to introduce more routes to Sabah and Sarawak, such as Kuching,” said Achmad, adding that Batik Air would use its fleet of Airbus A320s or Boeing 737900 ERs to operate its new route.